Wednesday, 20 August 2008
The Cremation Regulations are still quite complicated and it is wisest to approach a funeral director immediately after death occurs and advise them that you desire to arrange for a cremation. Discuss with them how soon you wish the cremation to take place and whom you wish to officiate at the service, also the form of service. The funeral director will then do all that is needed to procure the necessary statutory forms for the cremation. You will need to sign the statutory Form A if you are the executor or the next of kin or are authorised by either to do so. The death will have to be registered and you will be advised how to do this.
You will probably be asked how you wish to dispose of the Cremated Remains. You will be asked to sign an authority for disposal form so that the crematorium can carry out your wishes. If you are unsure ask the Funeral Director to collect them on your behalf for you to have the time to decide.
In eighty per cent of the cases the cremation ashes are strewn or buried in the gardens of remembrance at the crematorium or place in a cremated remains plot or existing grave. The alternative is to remove the cremation ashes from the crematorium in a suitable urn for disposal elsewhere. This may be by burial in a family grave or by strewing the ashes at another crematorium or in some favourite spot. However, it must be borne in mind that when ashes are strewn on other places, e.g. graves, churchyards, etc., prior permission must be sought and any local rules regulations obeyed.
The gardens of remembrance consist of areas set aside for the disposal of cremation ashes. Usually these areas have been dedicated for the purpose by representatives of the Christian churches. Ashes may be strewn or buried without any spot being reserved to any one person nor are individual memorials permitted in such gardens to mark the spot.
Usually the only permanent form of memorial available is an entry in the Book of Remembrance. This book is displayed in a special Memorial Chapel also with a computerised system to enable you to see your inscription whenever you visit. Some crematoria allow wall plaques or plaques on kerbstones, etc. but these are usually for a limited period and require to be renewed periodically by further payments.
At some crematoria it is also possible to dedicate a rose bush or other garden item with a small plaque but this again is for a limited period with the option of renewal on further payment. If you are anxious about memorial facilities at the crematorium you should enquire with the funeral director at the time of making the arrangements in order to ascertain what facilities are available. This can avoid disappointment at a later date.
The coffin is usually brought into the chapel followed by the mourners in procession. While the coffin is being placed on the catafalque (this is a platform on which the coffin stands during the service), the mourners take their seats and the service proceeds. When the committal of the body takes place the coffin may be obscured from view by means of curtains closing round the catafalque or it may be lowered from the catafalque and descend into a committal room below. The method varies at each crematorium but the most common method today is the use of curtains. At the end of the service the mourners leave the chapel and may inspect the floral tributes before leaving.
It is withdrawn into a committal room where the name plate of the coffin is checked with the cremation order to ensure correct identity. The cremator in which the coffin is placed is then labelled with a card prepared by the crematorium giving all the relevant information. This card will stay with the body from now on until the final disposal of the cremation ashes.
Where possible the cremation will follow immediately after the service. The Code of Cremation Practice which is adhered to as members of the Federation of British Cremation Authorities requires that the cremation shall take place on the same day as the cremation service, and that each coffin shall be cremated individually.
Yes. The Code requires that nothing must be removed from the coffin after it has been received from the chapel and it must be placed into the cremator exactly as received.
Crematorium regulations require that all fittings shall be of combustible material and normally the handles and name plate are today made of hard plastic. Ferrous nails and screws do not burn and stay with the ashes until they are withdrawn from the cremator when they are subjected to a magnetic field which removes them.
The temperature at which a modern cremator operates (between 800°C and 1000°C is such that metals are usually fused with other material so that they are not recognisable. The Code of Practice states that any metallic material resulting from a cremation should be disposed of in accordance with the instructions of the cremation authority and recommends that this should be done by burial at a depth within the crematorium grounds.
The best advice is that it should be removed after death unless it is intended that it should be cremated. Once the coffin has been placed in the chapel there is no way of recovering such an item.
No. All coffins are cremated individually, with the exception of mother and baby or twin children providing that the next of kin has made a specific request in this regard.
Yes. Normally two persons are permitted to attend and the superintendent should be advised in advance of this wish.
As explained, each coffin is identified on arrival and the identity card is placed on the outside of the cremator as soon as the coffin is placed into it. The card stays there until the ashes are removed and it is then transferred to the cooling tray. The ashes then go to the preparation room, and the card stays with them, finally being placed in the urn which contains the prepared remains. As each cremator will only accept one coffin and the ashes must be withdrawn before the cremator is used again, all cremation ashes are kept separate throughout the process. The size of the cremation chamber of the cremator is about 7ft. long by 2ft. 6in. wide by 2ft. 3in. high.
When the cremation is complete, that is when there is no further combustion taking place, the cremation ashes are withdrawn from the cremator into a cooling tray. Often cooling is accelerated by means of a fan blower. When cool, the ferrous material is removed by means of a magnetic field. The remaining ashes are then placed into a machine which reduces the remains to a fine white ash. All non-ferrous metals are cleared and disposed of in accordance with the Code of Practice.
The ashes are now totally bone ash and weigh usually between 4 and 6lbs. They are in a state which will permit them to be strewn.
Ashes are scattered in an unmarked area just below ground level. This area is known as the Garden of Remembrance.
In such a case it would be necessary to have the ashes buried in a cemetery or churchyard where provision is made for this to be done.
The applicant may do as they wish with the ashes and may keep them if this is desired.
Clear instructions in writing should be given to the person who will be responsible for your funeral when you die. Such instructions are not binding in law so you should ensure that the person instructed is someone likely to carry out your wishes. The final decision will rest with your executors.
Telephone or visit your local crematorium and discuss the matter with the staff there, who will be pleased to answer your queries and conduct you through the crematorium to see how it is operated.
